Bernard Avenue

As is the case with many North American cities, Kelowna has struggled with the effects of urban sprawl, big box shopping malls and an overall lack of identity. At the start of the design process Bernard Avenue lacked a bustling presence of commercial and residential activity and was dominated by vehicles without a clear route for pedestrians.

Space2place recognized that this street redesign was a major component of the revitalization of the downtown as a whole - a redesign that is closely linked to upcoming work for Kerry Park. Design integration between Bernard Avenue and Kerry Park would establish a distinct place downtown. The goal for Bernard Avenue was to come up with a forward-thinking, yet feasible vision that would move through from concept plan to implementation and offer the city a design framework that responded to the desires of residents and business owners.

Space2place undertook a collaborative process with the city, the public and key stakeholders in order to create a community-supported vision and set of ideas. In addition, a survey that was distributed yielded hundreds of responses with excellent input from the public.

The concept plan developed by space2place guided the implementation process that is scheduled to be completed in 2014. The new Bernard Avenue has transformed 6 city blocks in Kelowna and has attracted a burgeoning street life downtown.